Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Williamsburg (Va.) Court Record, 1840. Local government records collection, Local Government Records Replevin Collection. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in 2004 in a transfer.

Historical Information

Williamsburg, in James City and York Counties, was established by the General Assembly as Middle Plantation in 1633. After the capitol building at Jamestown burned in 1698, the assembly decided to move the capital of the colony to Middle Plantation, which was renamed Williamsburg in 1699 to honor William III. Williamsburg was established in 1699 and declared a "city Incorporate" in 1722, although its actual status was that of a borough. Williamsburg was incorporated as a city in 1884.

This record was replevined by the Library of Virginia following the trial entitled Commonwealth of Virginia vs. Larry I. Vass heard in Henrico County Circuit Court in November 1972.

James City County was recognized in 1634 as an original shire. Williamsburg was founded in 1699 and declared a “city Incorporate” by a royal charter in 1722, although its actual status was that of a borough. Beginning in 1770, the courts of James City County and Williamsburg shared a common courthouse. During the Civil War, the records of both localities were transferred to Richmond for safekeeping, but were destroyed by fire there on April 3, 1865. The records of the superior court of chancery for the Williamsburg district were destroyed by a courthouse fire in April 1911.

Scope and Content

Williamsburg (Va.) Court Record, 1840. The collection contains a note of counsel removed from Willamsburg court records. The note pertains to the legal cases Bassett vs. Healy and Healy vs. Healy's Administrator.

Related Material

For additional information concerning the replevin of this item see Larry I. Vass Case records, 1781-1973, found at the Library of Virginia.

Additional city of Williamsburg court records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm."

See the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection available at Virginia Memory.

For more information and a listing of lost records localities see Lost Records research note .

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• James City County/Williamsburg (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Replevin--Virginia.

Geographical Names:

• Williamsburg (Va.)--History--19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Judicial records--Virginia--Williamsburg.
• Local government records--Virginia-Williamsburg.
• Notes--Virginia--Williamsburg.

Adjunct Descriptive Data